Lawyer Sentenced To 6 Months For Tax Evasion

June 13, 1985|By William B. Crawford Jr.

A lawyer who was said to be a member of a ``hustler`s bribery club`` that allegedly funneled bribes to Circuit Judge Richard F. LeFevour was sentenced Tuesday to six months in the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center for filing false tax returns in 1978 and 1979.

Edward E. Nydam, 40, of 1650 Davis St., Park Ridge, also was placed on five years` probation and ordered to enroll in a drug rehabilitation program for treatment of drug and alcohol addiction after his release from the correctional center.

In addition, U.S. District Judge John Nordberg ordered Nydam to perform 300 hours of community service and to pay all back taxes, penalties and interest he owes to the Internal Revenue Service as a condition of probation.

Nydam pleaded guilty April 29 to charges that he did not report $32,000 in income.

Nydam`s name surfaced in the trial of Associate Circuit Judge John M. Murphy last June. Murphy was convicted of extortion, mail fraud and racketeering.

In the trial, James LeFevour, a cousin of Judge LeFevour, testified that Nydam was one of five attorneys who paid monthly bribes and that some were passed to Judge LeFevour. The bribes were paid to enable a lawyer to hustle clients in courtrooms, James LeFevour testified.

In Tuesday`s hearing, Assistant U.S. Atty. John Podliska charged that Nydam used his law practice income to pay for a drug and alcohol addiction. Michael Cheronis, Nydam`s attorney, urged leniency, pointing out that his client was enrolled in a drug treatment center, that he faced the loss of his law license and that his family had suffered extensively.

Nordberg said imprisonment was necessary. ``I intend to send a message that attorneys are subject to the same laws as any other member of society,`` he said.